30 Minute Chicken Couscous Dinner

30 minute chicken couscous dinner uses ingredients you probably already have on hand and is a nice twist on your regular weeknight meals.  It’s so good you can use this as a dinner for company and spend time with your guests instead of in the kitchen.

Ingredients and instructions were updated 03/08/18.

The inspiration actually comes from one of those subscription meal services, Hello Fresh.  They sent me a mailing with one of their popular recipes and I just tweaked it to make the meal easier.  So the convenience of home without the shipping cost or waste.

For this chicken couscous dinner you’ll want to start by making the bread crumb topping.  Mix panko bread crumbs (here’s a great recipe to make your own panko breadcrumbs from aging bread sitting around), Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Pound the chicken to about 1/2″ in height.  You can skip this step if you like, but the chicken won’t cook as evenly.  I like to use thighs because they have so much more flavor and stay juicier than breasts.  Why chicken breasts became America’s darling I’m not quite sure.  Feel free to use either chicken thighs or breasts for this chicken couscous dinner, thighs will take a few more minutes to cook.

When you buy skinless, boneless chicken thighs they come “rolled up” in a tight fist size shape.  Unroll them flat and place in a resealable plastic bag, preferably a freezer bag.  You can place between two pieces of plastic wrap but I’ve found that is messier and the plastic rips.  That’s why I also suggest using the freezer bag over a regular one because the freezer bag is thicker and holds together better.

Use a rolling pin or heavy bottom pan to lightly pound the thicker part of the chicken to about 1/2″ thickness.  The goal here is to get the chicken thigh or breast, in fact all of them, to the same height so that the chicken couscous dinner cooks evenly.  No need to pound hard, a few little taps should do it.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Place chicken on an oiled baking sheet.  For ease of clean up I like to use parchment paper.  Brush sour cream on top of each thigh and press some of the bread crumb mixture on top. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes or so until cooked through.

While the chicken couscous dinner is baking you’ll want to make the spinach salad.  Cut a large lemon into quarters or eighths for ease of juicing.  Combine lemon juice with 2 Tablespoons sour cream, toss with spinach and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Make couscous according to box directions, it only takes time to boil the water and then let it steep for 5 minutes, so allow about 10 minutes to get couscous ready.  When ready add olive oil, salt and pepper.

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30 Minute Chicken Couscous Dinner

Readily available ingredients, 30 minutes and you'll have this chicken couscous dinner on the table in no time

Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Author On The Go Bites

Ingredients

Topping

• 1 Cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 Cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper freshly ground

Prepare Chicken

• 4 Large Chicken Thighs skinless and boneless
• 4 Tablespoons Sour cream

Prepare Spincah Salad

• 10 Ounces Baby Spinach rinsed and drained
• 1 Large Lemon squeezed
• 2 Tablespoons Sour cream
• 1 Pinch Kosher salt
• 1 Pinch Black pepper freshly ground

Prepare Couscous

• 1 Cup Couscous
• 1 3/4 Cups Chicken Broth or water
• 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 Pinch Black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

Prepare Topping

1. Prepare bread crumb mixture by combining panko bread crumbs, Parmesan, garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
   

Prepare Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   

2. Unroll chicken thighs and pound chicken with a rolling pin in a sealed plastic bag to 1/2" height.  No need to pound too hard, a few gentle hits on the thicker side of the chicken will flatten the chicken, the goal is to get the chicken the same height so that it cooks evenly. 
   

3. Place on an oiled baking sheet or line with parchment paper.  Salt and pepper thighs, spread with a tablespoon of sour cream on each thigh then cover and press down bread mixture.
   

4. Bake for about 20 minutes until cooked through.
   

Prepare Couscous

1. While chicken is cooking, bring chicken broth (or water) to a boil, remove from heat, add couscous and cover for 5 minutes.
   

2. Once cooked, fluff the couscous and add 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and some pepper.
   

Prepare Spinach Salad

1. While couscous is cooking, rinse and dry spinach.  Mix 2 tablespoons of sour cream with the juice of one lemon, add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper.  Toss with spinach.
   

Plate Chicken Couscous Dinner

1. Place 1/4 of the couscous on a plate, swirling with the back of a spoon leaving the couscous thin in the middle of the plate. Top with spinach salad and finally top with the cooked chicken.  Serve with lemon wedges.  A sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese is a nice touch too.
   

Recipe Notes

You can make the breading and the spinach dressing in the morning or the night before.  Do not actually bread the chicken or dress the salad until you are ready to cook.

If you aren't in a chicken mood, then bake some salmon and top the couscous and spinach salad with that.  It's a beautiful dinner....and easy to boot.

Follow the picture above for a lovely presentation of the 30 minute chicken couscous dinner.  Plate the couscous first, then the salad and last the chicken. Beautiful and delicious.

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